Moments : Golden Memories

haiku friday & one single impression

There's no way to pause,
memories fade over time,
cherish these moments

Hearst Castle

California : San Simeon : Hearst Castle

It's been a while since I've posted any photos from our vacation in California.
I've done a few posts, but haven't quite finished; I took a TON of photos.
Maybe it's the fabulous weather we are experiencing that's
making me reminiscent of our nine days back in April.
Either way, I would like to share the tour of Hearst Castle we took while in California.

View from the Esplanade

"La Cuesta Encantada" or "The Enchanted Hill",
is perched atop the hills of San Simeon overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The palatial mansion was built by William Randolph Hearst,
and was designed by architect Julia Morgan.

The estate has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 41 fireplaces,
19 sitting rooms, and 127 acres of gardens.....



It's a lot bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside......
just kidding......this is the old school house, you can see the castle in the background.

There are several different tours to choose from while visiting,
although Cody and I only took one. The first one actually.
The Experience tour is one recommended to first-time visitors.
It lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.




The beginning of the Hearst Castle Tour took us to
the promenade in front of Casa Del Sol.
It's an eighteen room guest house that faces the Pacific coastline.
Tour one allowed us to view 4 of the bedrooms, and 4 of the bathrooms.
But that came after this.......

The Neptune Pool.

The Greco-Roman style Temple front was bought in Europe and transported to the grounds.
I've read that, the Neptune pool was rebuilt 3 times before Mr. Hearst was satisfied.



Afterwards, we headed up to the Esplanade,
one of the most beautiful sections of the grounds.
It featured many marble sculptures, and flowers.




Continuing on the tour, we were lead through a few rooms within Casa Del Sol.



From the outside in, everything was lavishly decorated......
I am sure that I missed some details along the way.



From the ceiling to the floor, pure extravagance.



I stayed in the back for most of the tour,
since I was more interested in taking photos.
It was hard to do so surrounded by a group of people, but I managed.



Casa Grande (the main house) and the three guest houses were
done in a Mediterranean Revival style.



The towers of the main house are modeled after a 16th Century Spanish Cathedral.
This was the main stop of the tour taking us through five rooms of Casa Grande's ground floor.

The Assembly Room which is the largest of the four sitting rooms and once a gathering place for Hearst's guests, the Refectory which is the single dining room at Hearst Castle, the Morning Room which is a magnificent sitting room filled with Spanish antiques and Flemish tapestries, the Billiard Room which is a game room featuring two 1920's billiard tables and a Gothic "millle fleurs" tapestry, and the Theater which is the largest room in Casa Grande.



The end of the tour brought us to Casa Grande's indoor Roman Pool.
For me, this was definitely the highlight.



The Roman Pool is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1″ square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused 24 karat gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect. The designs created by the tiles were developed by muralist Camille Solon.



Still curious to see more, we loaded the bus to go back down to the the visitor center.
We could have paid another $24 to go on another tour, but decided not to.
Instead, we took advantage of the free ticket to see the movie
"Hearst Castle Building the Dream".

All in all, I'm really glad that we added the castle tour to our itinerary.
I would have been kicking myself later had we missed it.
To see more photos that I haven't shown here, check out this link.
Flickr Set

Sorry I wasn't more in depth, but it was enough work getting this together!
For more information about the history, check out this link.
Hearst Castle History

Hope you have all had an enchanting weekend!

F A N T A S I A

Winter Beauty
When it's winter in the Valley
and my breath hangs in the air,
The snow will crunch beneath my feet
and glisten in the air.
The stars at night light up my world
so I never walk alone;
It's clear and crisp and beautiful
in the Valley I call home.

Joan Adams Burchell

*************************************************

Thoughts about this photo:

• It was one taken during the beautifully wretched and freak ice storm this past Friday.
• The sun came out for a very brief period of time and brought some blue skies with it.
• Everything started melting at warp speed, we had to watch our heads for falling ice.
• I feel terribly lucky that we got stuck at home that day and I was able to capture it.
• I'm not always that lucky when it's that beautiful outside......
• I'm also thankful that we have some very neat scenery around our little house 'in the valley'.
• This photo makes me think of a dreamland.
• It was very surreal to witness everything encased in 1/4" thick ice.

Update:

• I have some new posts over at {366} Photographic Journal.

*How is your weather? Today was unusually warm, I was outside sleeveless, it was wonderful! Especially compared to the down pour we had yesterday.......

Down & Out

Do you have what it takes?!

Okay, so, what's this all about? Maybe you did or didn't notice that I was completely absent this past Friday...........we woke up to a valley encased in ice.......and this ice was so thick that the very weight of it downed power lines around our neighborhood, not to mention our front yard! We were virtually trapped since the power lines were laying across our driveway, as well as across the left and right sides of our road once you pull out of the driveway, and with the added branches scattering the road, it looked like a battlefield! We called as early as 7:30 in the morning but didn't see signs of relief until almost 11:00 at night.........on a normal day when you get to stay home due to certain extenuating circumstances you have constant stimulation from all sorts of things that require electricity. I was earnestly lost without my normal sources of entertainment!

It occurred to me while lighting copious amounts of candles later that evening that there was a time when people did do without the luxury of electricity, and in some places still do. Electricity, as a luxury, what a concept, eh? I know that this instance of us having to do without for an entire day was something that was forced upon us, but it definitely opened my eyes. It opened my eyes to how dependent I have become upon these luxuries, and how depriving yourself can allow us to place our focus on other things. I spend a lot of time on the computer, if you ask the right person, they'd declare too much of my time probably. I suppose that I've always been the type to test myself, to see what I am capable of doing or not doing, although this would not normally be a test I would place upon myself. When is the last time you did without the luxury of electricity?

Do you think that you could endure such a challenge imposed on yourself?!
~Take the Challenge~

Worth Waking Up For..........

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.

~Frank Tibolt

I didn't think twice this morning when Cody told me that the sky was soooo orange. Even though it was 7:30 and my weekend to sleep in, I hopped up, put on a jacket and hat, slipped on 'Cody's' snow boots and headed out the door!
FYI - I started a new project at the beginning of 2008. The project demands that I take a photograph to represent each day of the year. In 2008 there are 366 days since it is a leap year. I have started a separate blog dedicated to this series of photos. This project is more for myself than anyone else, although it's not as if I am looking to keep it secret for any specific reason so please check it out if you are so inclined. Feedback is always greatly appreciated!
Not only will I be prone to take more photos as a result of this undertaking, but I am also hoping that it will promote creativity at the same time. So far I have taken the project seriously and have yet to falter due to laziness. I have found that I get cranky when I don't take photos for an extended period of time. So far I have exceeded my expectations of merely taking one photo a day............


See the NEW BLOG here:
{366} Photographic Journal

Ornately Adorned

When walking through or outside of the home you are inundated with so many details. One is bound to miss something no matter how closely you think you are paying attention. This photo is of the entrance to the Biltmore House and as you can see from the windows to the rooftops it is bedecked beautifully.
The treatment on the photo gives it an almost menacing look, but that's why I like it. It reminded me of a castle in a way; I have always wanted to see one in real life, and so far this is the closest I have come.

Biltmore Estate

When we first arrived I was awe-struck as the home came in to view, it sort of just jumped out at you. This past Saturday we visited America's Largest Home*, Biltmore Estate. In 1888 George Vanderbilt II visited the Great Smokey Mountains and it was at that time he decided to build a 'winter retreat' right here in North Carolina. A winter retreat which has 250 rooms!?!? With our timed entry tour we were able to see four floors within the house, although that didn't include every room on each of the floors. There are still many areas in the home which have yet to be restored. As you can see in the photo the grounds were crawling with visitors, you could barely get around without bumping elbows with a stranger. After a number of cell phone calls and uncoordinated instructions we finally met up with Mom and Rick at the house. The weather began as a less than favorable cloudy, gray, and semi-rainy day that after some time cleared up to reveal beautiful blue skies. I am positive that it was all because I was constantly chanting "blue skies, blue skies" during the entire tour of the house. I got terribly excited when I noticed the change taking place while touring through the house; that turned the whole day around for me. The tour was self-guided but still took a while to shuffle through since it was one long line that meandered in and out of every floor. I felt like I was waiting in line for a ride at Universal Studios, the only difference here being that the people were less sweaty! In the beginning they supplied you with small books which briefly explained each room you passed along the way. We waived the option to get a set of headphones which gave you further explanation with stories behind the rooms being toured, maybe next time we visit we'll get a pair. I absolutely have to go back when the gardens are in full bloom, and when less people are in attendance. There were so many different things to see and do while at the estate, it would be nearly impossible to take advantage of it all in just one day. The most disappointing part of the visit was the fact that you weren't allowed to take pictures inside the home. It was explained that flashes can deteriorate the artwork........which is understandable.
Mr. Vanderbilt was quite an avid collector of fine art, the mansion housed antiques, Oriental rugs, tapestries, and various artworks, some of which who are very renowned artists. The house was beautifully decorated; my favorite room was Mrs. Vanderbilts. I can't wait to go back and explore the house and grounds a little further in the near future. I do have some more photos to share so be sure to check back later in the week, thanks.

*Still privately owned